If you are a poor college student (like me) always looking for free food, UCCS resources like the Mountain Lion Meal program and Clyde’s Cupboard — our college’s own food pantry which has served over 6,000 students — are a huge help. As the pandemic started to kick into gear last semester, I ran by the Cupboard to get some canned goods, prepping for the craziness I knew was about to come.
But what about now? Are they still running with social distancing in effect?
According to Katie Morton, a graduate assistant at the Office of the Dean of Students,
Clyde’s Cupboard and the Mountain Lion Meal program are fully operational and ready to help as many students as possible. In fact, they received a grant of $5,000 to stock their shelves.
Clyde’s Cupboard has made the process of picking up any food item easy.
“What we are doing due to the pandemic is making individual bags,” Morton said. “Each bag contains a breakfast, veggie, fruit, pasta, protein, bean, single-serve meal and snack. There is also a monthly Fresh Food Friday that happens from 12-3pm. This consists of fresh veggies, fruit, cheese, and bread given out to students. All of our Clyde’s Cupboard days and Fresh Food Fridays can be found on Mountain Lion Connect.”
To get a free meal once a week from the Mountain Lion Meal program, click this link to apply. You will need to submit the form every week that you need a meal. After that, you simply go to any meal hall (all dining services on campus are still open) and use your University ID when you get to the payment kiosk.
Morton and the Office of the Dean of Students know that having resources like this is more important now than ever. Both programs are completely free and there is no need-based requirement, which means that you do not need to prove your income or housing situation to qualify for free food.
In a world with COVID-19 and lack of job security and quarantine and fires and all the other crazy things that 2020 has in store for us, it is nice to know that we can rely on some support from the University with canned goods and even hot meals.
For more info, head over to the Clyde’s Cupboard webpage.
Photo by Lauren Rock.
If you want to support Clyde’s Cupboard, they can always use your donations. But more than that, they are currently looking for people to share personal stories about how the Cupboard has helped them.
“I am looking for students who would be comfortable in sending me a quote on why they appreciate Clyde’s Cupboard and how it has helped them,” Morton said. “Along with this quote, I am asking you to send a picture of yourself.”
If the Cupboard or Mountain Lion Meal program has helped you in any way, you can send an email with your quote to [email protected].